US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Saturday the Kremlin's entry ban on officials from the EU, but affirmed that they seek more constructive relationship with Russia.
Blinken stated on Twitter that Washington joins "EU leaders in condemning" Russia’s entry ban on EU officials, which he described as "yet another effort by Moscow to intimidate critics."
[embed]https://twitter.com/SecBlinken/status/1388274436344799237?s=08[/embed]
"Alongside our partners and Allies, we seek a more constructive relationship with Russia, but it must honor its international commitments," the U.S. diplomat went on saying.
On Friday, the Russian foreign ministry published a blacklist of eight EU nationals who were banned from entering Russia.
The blacklist includes:
- President of the European Parliament David Sassoli
- Berlin’s chief prosecutor Jorg Raupach
- Chairman of Latvia’s National Electronic Media Council Ivars Abolins
- Director of the Latvian State Language Center Maris Baltins
- Jacques Maire, a member of the French delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
- Asa Scott, Head of the CBRN Protection and Security Division at the Swedish Defense Research Agency
- Ilmar Tomusk, Director General of the Language Inspectorate, Estonia
- Vera Jourova, Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency
This step comes on the heels of the European Council’s sanctions against six Russian nationals of March 2 and 22, 2021.
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